Observations on marine macrophytes of the republic of Seychelles

Abstract

The distribution of macrophytes was studies from the major islands (Mahe, Praslin and La Digue) of the Seychelles Archipelago. The macrophytes were represented by 72 species of seaweeds, 8 species of mangroves and 6 species of seagrass. The dominant seaweeds were species of @iSargassum@@ and @iTurbinaria@@ and the biomass of @iSargassum@@ was observed in the range of 0-8 kg m@u-2@@ (wet weight). Approximately 30% of the total lagoon area was covered by seagrass meadows and @iThalassia hemprichii@@ was dominant. The dominant mangrove species are @iAvicennia marina@@, @iRhizophora mucronata@@ and @iSonneratia alba@@